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"Crisis Pregnancy Centers"

All women, regardless of economic status, should have the ability to access, and the means to exercise, their legal right to abortion.

The legal right to abortion means little if women do not have the means and ability to access it. One barriers faced by many women, particularly women who are low-income, students, or women of color, is the deceptive practices of limited service pregnancy centers.

What is a crisis pregnancy center?

"Crisis pregnancy centers" are fake clinics (more accurately known as limited-service pregnancy centers) are fake clinics that offer free pregnancy tests, anti-choice pregnancy and health care information, and sometimes ultrasound imaging. Even though they often look like medical clinics, they provide no medical care other than pregnancy tests and ultrasounds without medical diagnosis.

What is the problem?

Women – often low-income women seeking free pregnancy tests – go to these centers in times of crisis, in need of medical care and unbiased pregnancy information. Instead, they get false or misleading information about what services are offered, their patient privacy is not protected, their test results and medical records are withheld, and they are denied needed referrals for reproductive health care.

There are at least 46 such centers operating in Washington State, in 21 counties and 33 legislative districts.